Key events
Amanda Meade
ABC will today conclude its $1.1m defence
After a full day of closing submissions from Antoinette Lattouf’s legal team on Thursday, today will see the ABC wrap up its defence of the unlawful termination case.
The broadcaster will defend its decision to take Lattouf off air in December 2023, a decision it has always maintained was not a termination.
“The ABC maintains that it did not terminate Ms Lattouf’s one-week contract unlawfully but we do obviously understand that this is an impost on public funds, and that is why we have tried to attempt to settle this matter,” the acting managing director, Melanie Kleyn, said this week, of the case which has cost $1.1m in external lawyers.
Yesterday, we heard Lattouf’s barrister Oshie Fagir tell the court that Ita Buttrose’s emails “hammering” executives with complaints were influential in her sacking.
Fagir said the former chair was one of four ABC figureheads who played a pivotal role in the removal of the casual host from air and her “attitude never wavered at any point”.
Welcome
Hi, I’m Nino Bucci, and I’ll be watching day eight of the Antoinette Lattouf v ABC unlawful termination claim.
Today we expect to hear the conclusion of closing arguments.
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9.45am and is live-streamed on the federal court’s YouTube channel.
When final submissions have concluded Justice Darryl Rangiah will retire to consider his verdict.
